Euro-zone – Unemployment rate hits record 11.6%

The euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.6% in September 2012, up from 11.5% in August.

The EU27 unemployment rate was 10.6% in September 2012, stable compared with August.

In both zones, rates have risen significantly compared with September 2011, when they were 10.3% and 9.8% respectively. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat estimates that 25.751 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 18.490 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in September 2012. Compared with August 2012, the number of persons unemployed increased by 169 000 in the EU27 and by 146 000 in the euro area. Compared with September 2011, unemployment rose by 2.145 million in the EU27 and by 2.174 million in the euro area.

Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in  Austria (4.4%),  Luxembourg (5.2%), Germany and the Netherlands (both 5.4%), and the highest in Spain (25.8%) and Greece (25.1% in July 2012).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in twenty Member States and fell in seven. The largest decreases were observed in Lithuania (14.7% to 12.9%), Estonia (11.4% to 10.0% between August 2011 and August 2012), and  Latvia (17.0% to 15.9% between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012). The highest increases were registered in Greece  (17.8% to 25.1% between  July 2011 and July 2012), Cyprus (8.5% to 12.2%), Spain (22.4% to 25.8%) and Portugal (13.1% to 15.7%).

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